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wood rat
DCHP-1 (pre-1967)
Entry from the DCHP-1 (pre-1967)
This entry may contain outdated or offensive information, terms, and examples.
1 — Obs.
an aquatic rodent, Ondatra zibethica, common to many parts of North America and widely trapped for its valuable fur.
See: muskrat(def. 1)
Quotations
1760
The fur of this animal . . . that of the otter . . . the wood-rat . . . and martin, are what is called the Menue Peleterie, or lesser furs.
2
a rat of the genus Neotoma whose habitat is the bush, as the bushy-tailed wood rat.
Quotations
1836
A most destructive little animal, the wood rat . . . [is] of a grey colour, and of nearly the size and form of the common rat, but the tail resembles that of the ground squirrel.
1939
They had for food . . . marmot, squirrels and wood-rats when times were bad.